The Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill On June 17, 1775 General Israel Putnam was in charge of American forces on Breed's Hill. The Americans had had a long, exhausting night preparing defenses such as trenches and setting up cannon batteries. They were setting up a posititon from which they could bombard Boston. Major-General William Howe was in charge of the British. The attack was actually at Breed's Hill, not Bunker Hill. The battle ended as a victory for the British forces. However, the British had suffered crippling losses, 228 killed and over 800 wounded. The Americans however, had 140 killed, 271 wounded, and 30 taken prisoner. The British were all over Boston and British warships surrounded it by sea. The Americans saw the Charlestown peninsula as a great place to start bombardment of the city from in order to start a siege. The British saw its importance as well. At 4 A.M., a sentry on board the ship, HMS Lively spotted these new defenses. The HMS Lively Opened fire. Soon the British assembled an infantry force and attacked. Both sides called for reinforcements. The British stormed the American positions and the first shots had been fired. The battle had begun. 1,400 American defenders faced 2,600 British attackers. The british had advanced 3 times, but the first 2 times, they had been savagely thrown back. However, the third time, The Americans had ran out of ammunition and the Americans had to withdraw. Most of The American losses had been during the withdrawl. The Americans may have lost, but the battle proved the Americans had a will to fight for their cause, and the British attitude had changed towards the Americans. th_BunkerHill-Warren.jpg th_BunkerHill-Warren.jpg th_BunkerHill-Warren.jpg th_BunkerHill-Warren.jpg th_BunkerHill-Warren.jpg